Following the arrest of two women, 39-year-old Rejoice Raymond and 80-year-old Mrs Chidi Felicia Nwafor, by the police operatives attached to 3-3 Police Station, Nkwelle Ezunaka over the attempted murder of three children.
The police operative police operatives, in conjunction with the local vigilante group, raided a house at the Federal Housing Estate, 3-3 Area, Onitsha, on the 19th February 2021 and found the children, a girl and two boys confined in different rooms of the residence.
On scrutiny, it was discovered that the children were subjected to physical and emotional torture without food and inflicted several wounds on their bodies, leaving them unconscious and at the point of death.
According to a statement by the Anambra State Police Command, Haruna Mohammed, the victims were badly battered with lacerations all over their body – one with a broken arm and found in the pool of their blood were rescued and rushed to the hospital for medical attention.
The statement reads,
“Exhibits recovered at the scene included some fetish substances, blood-stained canes, concoctions and other incriminating items.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the three children were allegedly sold to the suspects by a notorious child trafficking kingpin namely Sabina Izoura ‘ who has been on the police wanted list for child trafficking, child stealing and forgery.
Further investigations also revealed that the suspect was involved in unlawful adoptions, using forged police reports, forged authorisation letters from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and sworn court affidavits, to sell children stolen from all parts of the country to her waiting customers, both within and outside Nigeria; including a recent attempt to smuggle out two children (a boy and a girl) allegedly stolen from Niger State since 2018.
Meanwhile, all the children recovered by the police are presently under the protective care of the Anambra State Ministry for Social Welfare, Women’s and Children’s Affairs, pending when their biological parents will surface.
Investigations are still ongoing and efforts are being intensified to apprehend other accomplices to bring them to justice.
Consequently, the Commissioner of Police, CP Monday Bala Kuryas, of, has enjoined Ndi Anambra and the general public to apprehend or report at the nearest police station, or call police emergency number 07039194332, whenever they see Mrs Sabina Izuorah ‘of formerly of Social welfare Dept Awka South LGA but recently transferred to Social Welfare Department Ihiala LGA presently at large and evading police arrest in connection with the offence of child stealing/ trafficking, forgery and perjury.”
